


i'm a paper doll (you can tear me up)

by Sylv



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-11-28
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylv/pseuds/Sylv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that she is contractually obliged to live in the apartment for at least a year, she doesn’t feel bad about leveling a stare at him. A stare that would send most people crawling away, tail between their legs. Scott merely smiled at her and said that was fine, he would see her later. Before he turned away to exit through the front door, he told her, “The room looks great, by the way.”</p><p>Oh, she is so fucked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'm a paper doll (you can tear me up)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [electrahearts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/electrahearts/gifts).



She had answered his ad in the paper, not because she was looking forward to sharing her space and having to accommodate for someone else, but because she needed a place to live and someone to split the rent with.

He told her one day, later in their relationship, that he had put out the ad because he was lonely.

Cora hauled her bags up to the door of his apartment and knocked with a confidence that she didn’t feel. He threw it open immediately, brilliant white smile on his face and grabbed three of her bags without being asked, carrying them inside to her new room.

Scott had shown her the space when she came to talk with him about the ad. They both agreed to a casual interview-slash-conversation before signing the papers and moving her in, so that they could figure out if the arrangement would work. Cora hadn’t had any intention of making complaints; living with a doctor who had a big space and worked long hours, giving her a lot of privacy, was more than she could have hoped for. She tried not to glare her way through the talk, but Scott doesn’t look to be too picky himself.

So here they were on one of his few days off, standing in a blank room with crisp, turned down sheets and matching furniture of dark wood. Scott stood in the doorway for a while and gathered up the courage to ask her if she needed any help unpacking. Cora told him no, perhaps a little too quickly, and he obligingly disappeared. She heard him fiddling with things in the kitchen as she scraped the desk along the floor into a different corner and set up her turntables. 

Scott only returned to her room to tell her that there was a dinner he was going out to with friends, and if she wanted to join he would be delighted to have her. 

Now that she is contractually obliged to live in the apartment for at least a year, she doesn’t feel bad about leveling a stare at him. A stare that would send most people crawling away, tail between their legs. Scott merely smiled at her and said that was fine, he would see her later. Before he turned away to exit through the front door, he told her, “The room looks great, by the way.”

Oh, she is so fucked.

\---

She was right about one thing when it came to Scott: he was almost never home. If she was awake in the morning, sipping her coffee and reading the paper, he would be coming back from a twelve hour shift, nodding to her and headed right to his room for a few hours of sleep. Sometimes Cora wouldn’t see him for an entire twenty-four hours and he would return with bags under his eyes, letting her know that he took a catnap or two on a cot at the hospital. It was as if she had this huge apartment all to herself. One that she could not believe the rent on was so low, until she realized that Scott was actually paying for two thirds of it, and she the rest.

One day after he came home, instead making a beeline for his room, Scott took a sharp left into the kitchen area. Cora watched him from the couch where she had the television on, wrapped up in a clearly hand-knitted afghan that she had grown fond of. He pushed aside the cartons of leftover Chinese and Indian take out and began loading ingredients out on the counter. 

As if he sensed her watching him, Scott glanced over his shoulder and said, “Won’t settle for anything less than a home cooked meal after a long day.”

Cora cocked her head at him, realizing that she narrowed her eyes as she did so. He had never asked her anything about herself that she didn’t offer upfront (from the border of northern California and Oregon, work nights most of the time, no thanks I can do my own laundry), so perhaps his methods of interrogations were subtler. Still, he had no Hale in his veins. Maybe his intentions were true.

“What are you making?”

Scott was glowing as he turned to face her. “My family has perfected the art of the alfredo sauce. It will be the best thing you have ever tasted.”

Cora snorted at that. “Arrogance at its best. I’ll be the judge of your fettucine alfredo.”

For the next half an hour or so, Scott was absorbed in his cooking. She could hear him chopping things, watched him check the cooking pasta frequently, sauté the ingredients in a pan on the stove. The smell started to permeate the apartment air, and Cora couldn’t keep her attention on the procedural cop drama she was watching.

She untangled herself from the afghan when he started to mix the sauce in with the steaming pasta. Her legs walked her over to the cabinets and she set two places at the small kitchen table, plates, silverware, the whole deal. “Drink?” she asked him, purposefully avoiding his eyes.

It didn’t matter. She could feel his surprise-turned-happiness like some kind of radiation when he told her that he was good with just water. Two glasses joined the other place settings.

Ten minutes later Cora had already wolfed down most of the portion on her plate. She avoided Scott’s eyes, but was pretty sure that he knew just how much she liked the dish considering she had practically inhaled it. He wasn’t even eating himself, just sitting back and watching her with something that looked very much like awe.

“What?” Cora asked him around the last mouthful of pasta. She grabbed for her napkin self-consciously.

“I’ve never seen anyone eat like that,” Scott told her, finally tucking into his own food. “And that’s saying something, because I’ve seen Stiles when he didn’t have a lunch period back in high school.”

Cora told herself very sternly that she was not to blush. “It might have been pretty good alfredo sauce.”

“I told you!” Scott crowed. And then, more softly, “I’m glad you liked it.”

There then ensued about ninety seconds where Cora shifted in her seat, glancing at her plate, the sink, the dishwasher, and Scott. He seemed unperturbed by the silence, eating much more slowly than she had.

She was just about to get up and make her escape, taking the ongoing silence as her cue, when Scott started talking again. Since she had already half gotten up, she went to rinse her dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

“So, let me know if this is none of my business, but you said that you needed a place to stay pretty urgently. Can I ask what happened?”

Cora froze, but managed to keep it together enough to not drop anything and close the dishwasher. “No,” she answered, and turned to head immediately for her room so she wouldn’t have to see the look on Scott’s face.

\---

Cora was woken up from a pretty deep sleep by a laugh from somewhere in the apartment. Light was streaming through the blinds and she rolled over with a groan, fumbling with her phone on the bedside table. The digital clock said it was just after two in the afternoon, which meant that she had been sleeping for about eight hours.

The laugh came again, and she decided that there was no way she was getting back to sleep; eight hours was plenty anyway. She shrugged into a thin robe and pulled her hair up before exiting her room quietly.

Scott was lying on the couch, feet propped up on one arm of it. There was a phone being held up to his ear by his shoulder, hands too busy flipping through a magazine to help. Cora couldn’t figure out exactly what the person on the other line was saying, but she could hear his voice very clearly, a loud rush of syllables.

When she passed through Scott’s line of sight he sat up immediately, quick to grab the phone so it wouldn’t crash to the ground. He mouthed a ‘good morning’ at her, grinning. Cora pressed her lips together in a thin line and went to get a glass of water.

“Wait, Stiles, wait,” she heard Scott saying behind her. “No, Stiles I—wait, okay? She just came out of her room. Give me a minute.”

Scott had reflexes like a goddamn cat, because when Cora turned around he was right there, and she hadn’t heard him approach. She nearly dropped her water in shock.

He held his free hand over the phone and said to her, “Hey, Stiles wants to talk to you. He wants to know who my new roommate is. He has an innate curiosity.”

Cora stared at him flatly, and Scott laughed, turning away and saying into the phone, “She said no way in hell. Sorry man.” A short pause while he listened to the response on the other end. “I don’t think that works once you’re older than eight.”

She smiled despite herself, and ducked around him to hide in her room again. The door shut quietly behind her, and she placed the glass of water by her phone before shrugging off her robe. 

Cora sat on her bed, hands clasped back around the glass, and listened to the muffled words from the other room. There was laughter, and there was Scott’s teasing tone of voice, and there was his incredulous one, and that slight lilt upwards was the one that he used when he was trying to get someone to do him a favor.

She hadn’t had any of her water.

Cora slammed the glass back down on her beside table and fumbled with her headphones, trying very hard not to listen to the tone of Scott’s voice, and failing until she blasted the music on her computer into her ears.

\---

Cora began to be able to tell little things about Scott, despite how hard she tried to keep her distance and tell herself that she didn’t actually care. But she found herself reading the tight lines in his face that meant he had a stressful day, or the slant of his shoulders that meant he had faced a tough problem, but overcome it.

She had the day off, but her sleep schedule was screwed up already, and if she tried to fix it, she would have a hard time when she had to go in tomorrow, so Cora was up watching late night television when she heard Scott come home.

He spent too long at the door, and Cora was just about to get up and open it when he came inside. He had a hood pulled up so that his face was shadowed. She nodded to him, ignored the slight twinge in her stomach when he didn’t respond, and turned back to her show.

Scott shuffled over to the kitchen, and Cora jumped when she heard the shatter of glass and a loud swear.

There was a puddle of water spreading over the tile and little glass pieces sparkling here and there. Scott was standing, still in his wet boots and thick coat, staring down at the mess. Cora found herself moving on autopilot, grabbing the broom and dustpan, mopping up the water with paper towels. She chanced glances up at Scott who stood motionless, glazed. His hands were shaking, and his face, even in shadow, seemed pale. It made her heart drop; she had never seen him like this before.

When Cora was pretty sure that no one would be accidentally stepping on broken glass, she stood up and placed a hesitant hand on Scott’s arm. He flinched as though she had hit him, and she withdrew, biting her lip. 

Cora managed to get Scott sitting on the couch, shoes off and coat hung up. She carefully stepped around the still damp patch on the kitchen floor and filled up a glass of water. She set it on a coaster on the coffee table and perched on the edge of a cushion. Scott’s hands were on his thighs, still shaking. 

“Scott…?”

“I killed someone.”

It was like the room had just been doused in ice water. Scott squeezed his eyes shut against the world and clenched his hands into fists, hard enough that Cora was sure he would have marks in his palms from his fingernails. He took a deep breath.

“I couldn’t save them. That’s my job. I’m a doctor, I’m supposed to save the people who come to the hospital, and I didn’t.”

Cora sat with her eyes wide, skin numb. Her throat and mouth were both suddenly dry. She swallowed with difficulty and said, “Is this… I mean, have you ever…”

“Killed someone before?” Scott shook his head, opening his eyes to look at her. To her horror, they glistened and threatened to spill over. “No. This woman was the first. I know it’s naïve of me, and I know it’s going to happen again because it happens to every doctor but I can’t… I don’t know if I can do it.”

In this pause of his halting explanation, Cora made a split second decision. She brought her hands up to Scott’s shoulders and pulled him down so that his head was resting against her chest. His arms immediately went around her waist, and Cora could feel his breath through her shirt.

“I’m sorry,” she said into his hair. That was met with a watery chuckle. 

“It’s so hard. You have to try to be strong when you’re talking to the family members, and then if your shift isn’t over you have to just—get over it. Like it didn’t happen until you get home.”

“Scott you didn’t drive like this did you?”

He shrugged into her. “It’s not a long drive.”

“You idiot,” she whispered, tightening her grip on him slightly. “You’re so stupid.”

“I know.”

“If you did everything in your power to help her, it’s not your fault. It sucks, but it happens you know. Sometimes, the things that you care about die. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Scott looked up at her, eyes mercifully dry, a line between his eyebrows. “You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

Cora stiffened. “Not particularly.” It was a pretty flimsy lie, but Scott let it slide after watching her for a moment.

“It’s not something that you think about when you’re in school, you know. I mean, abstractly, yeah. Death is a part of medicine, but you don’t think it’s going to happen to you. You don’t think that you’re going to be the one who has to deal with it.” 

The television murmured in the background. Cora reached out and grabbed the untouched glass of water and took a swig, wetting her mouth. Scott did the same when she was done.

His voice sounded a little bit steadier when he continued. “When I was in high school I was an assistant for a vet. I always knew that I wanted to help by doing some kind of medicine, but in the end doctor was the way to go. My mom was a nurse for a long time. She’s the reason that I finally made the choice, in the end. She’s kind of my hero; I always wanted to be like her.”

Cora shifted so that their eyes could be level. “A vet, huh?”

Scott grinned. “Yeah. Animals are a weakness of mine.”

She sighed. “Mine too, actually.” Scott raised an eyebrow, and she was silent for a minute while she thought. “My family… we run a preserve. For wolves. It’s what I grew up learning how to do.”

“Wolves?” Cora could have sworn she saw Scott’s ears perk up like a dog’s. “That’s amazing. Why would you ever leave that?”

She frowned. “I didn’t want to. I loved doing it and my whole family worked together. I don’t remember a time before the preserve. But my family… I have an older brother, Derek. He’s a little bit of an asshole. Actually, a lot of an asshole.” She laughed. “He’s good at being prickly, and even better at being mad. Not that I’m much better.”

Scott prodded further. “And so you… got in a fight then?”

Cora nodded. “He told me to get out. I told him it would be my pleasure. Skipping the boring details, here I am.”

Scott gave her that blinding smile, “Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

It was past three in the morning by the time they finally separated to go to bed. Cora made Scott finish the glass of water and watched him until he got to his room. An hour later she woke up to screaming, and barreled into Scott’s room, eyes wild.

He was thrashing in his sleep, fighting the sheets. Cora shook him awake, muttering things like “just a nightmare, you’re okay”. His fingers wrapped around her wrist lightly, and he stared up at her.

“Please stay,” he whispered to her. 

\---

Scott burst into Cora’s room, throwing open the door and looking over at her. Her mouth was open, headphones around her neck, incredulous.

“Dinner is ready?” he tried. Cora put her hands on her hips, a smile quirking at the corner of her lips.

“You’re never going to hear me sing!” she called after him as he turned to head back into the kitchen, leaving her bedroom door wide open.

Cora found that letting Scott know a little bit about her life made things a whole lot easier; she now had a print out of her schedule taped up onto the fridge right next to his. They could plan meals, knew when the other one would be sleeping, and even have a little free time together.

Scott was interested in every aspect of Cora’s life, even the parts that seemed dull to her. She had told him about her new job in the city, which was DJ’ing at local clubs. He had pulled her into her room once she said that, begging her to explain how her laptop and turntables worked, show her some of the songs that she had mixed.

When they met for their mutual meal—usually lunch—he asked her about work. How had her night been, what had songs had she played, how had the crowd been, did she have fun?

One thing that Cora refused to do, however, was sing for him. She had to start being careful about when she sang along with her mixes, because Scott was sneaky enough to sit silently in the living room and hope she would forget.

Cora emerged from her room, slippers and robe on, and settled down at the little table in the kitchen. Tonight's dinner was hamburgers; hers with all the toppings, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion. She made a mmm noise in the back of her throat and took a huge bite before Scott had a chance to sit down with her.

“Hungry?”

“Starving.” She ran a hand through her hair. “I’m always hungry when I’m nervous.”

“Why are you nervous? You always kill it at your shows, I know you do.”

“Unfortunately it’s something much more intimidating than a crowd of people.”

Scott waited expectantly.

“My family.”

“Your family?”

Cora nodded, “I miss the wolves.” Her shoulders slumped. “So I guess I’m visiting home.”

\---

They took Scott’s car for the drive. It had taken nearly a week of cajoling to get Cora to agree to bring him with her, but she had finally relented when he nearly got down on his knees and said, “Please let me see the wolves, please, please, please. For the sake of my high school self, and Dr. Deaton.”

The drive was a scenic one, the road twisting. The GPS led a winding path through the map of trees and mountains. It took about half the day to get there, leaving at nine in the morning and arriving around four. Cora slept in the car most of the drive, only waking up when the bumpiness indicated that they were pulling into her family’s long gravel driveway.

Scott idled half on the grass near the garage, looking at Cora expectantly. Her breath was caught in her throat and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sprawling wood building that was her family’s home. 

“Hey, where should I park?” 

Her gaze jumped from the green front door to Scott’s hand on her arm, and she took a shaky inhale. 

“Here is fine.”

She fumbled around in the backseat for her bag, but her fingers couldn’t seem to grasp the strap so Scott reached back and pulled hers onto the shoulder that his own bag wasn’t occupying.

Cora had never before felt the need to ring her own doorbell. She swallowed thickly, and knocked on the door, hoping it sounded more confidant than she felt. Scott was there at her side, close enough that when she shifted they brushed up against each other.

When the door opened, Derek was behind it. He had that half-frown on his face, like he wasn’t sure what negative emotion to express first. He had grown a beard in the time that she was gone, and if anything his muscles seemed even more defined, like he had been working harder.

Well, he sure as hell wasn’t going to say anything first. “Derek,” she managed.

“Cora,” he nodded at her. Then his eyes moved over to Scott. “I didn’t know you were going to be bringing someone with you.”

“Neither did I.”

Scott smiled, although Cora could tell he was tense, and held out his hand. “I’m Scott, nice to meet you.” he offered to her brother.

Derek eyed the hand for half a second before shaking it with one of his own. “Derek,” he responded. “Come in.”

He stood aside so that they could pass through the doorway.

It smelled just as she remembered it; earthy and wooden, warm. The art and photos on the wall hadn’t been moved, and the rug under her feet was the same threadbare red one she had been running over all her life. Something was cooking in the kitchen at the other end of the house, and there was laughter from that direction as well.

They followed Derek through the maze of the house, passing by closed doors and spacious entertaining rooms. Cora wasn’t watching where they were going, too busy drinking in the house that she suddenly felt like a stranger in, so she was surprised when they stopped not in front of her old room, but their parents'.

“You’re going to have to stay in here,” Derek told them, opening the door to the master bedroom. 

Scott walked right in, dropping his bag near the bed and exploring, headed for the bathroom attached. Cora stayed outside and rounded on her brother, the anxiety she had been feeling quickly replaced by anger.

“I’m not staying here.”

“You don’t have another choice,” Derek snapped, closing the door so that there was something solid between them and Scott. “All the other rooms are taken.”

“What do you mean, the other rooms are taken?”

He crossed his arms, glaring down at her. “I had to get help since the only other person I had working here with me skipped out.”

The laughter from the kitchen. “You’re the one who told me to get my ass out of here. I just followed orders.”

There was heat between them, a kind of static electricity on the edge of explosion. “You left me without any help, and you know how much work it takes to keep this place going. They stay here free, and get meals free, in exchange for helping around the house and the preserve.”

“So I have to stay in mom and dad’s room? The guest room is taken? Uncle Peter’s room? My old room?”

“Yes.”

“This is bullshit. Give us your room at least.”

“No way in hell. You’re a guest now, you’re here at my pleasure and you follow my rules. Besides, this is the only room with a bed big enough for you to both sleep in.”

That hit Cora like a smack to the face. Before she could say anything in response, Derek turned on his heel and marched away in the direction of the kitchen where his new help was.

Steaming, Cora shouldered her way into the room just as Scott emerged from the bathroom.

“There’s a Jacuzzi bath in there you know. Your family’s guest room is huge, and incredible.”

Noticing the thunderous look on her face, Scott hurried to her side. “Is everything alright? There was some serious tension between you guys when you were talking.”

Cora stalked to the closet and pulled out blankets and pillows. “Two seconds here, and we get into a fight.” She shook her head, throwing the pillows on the ground and spreading out the sheets and blankets. Scott watched her while she made a little bed next to the real one.

“I can do that,” he offered, reaching out to help. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to make us sleep in the same bed or anything.”

Cora shook her head at him. “It’s not that. This is my parents’ old room, and there’s no way that we are sleeping in that bed. It’s not happening.”

“Okay…” Scott settled down on the layers of blankets next to her. “If this is your parents’ room, why aren’t they sleeping in here?”

Before Cora had a chance to try and avoid that question there was a terse knock on the door. “Dinner!” said a voice that was definitely not Derek’s. Definitely not even a male voice.

Instead of pressing the issue, Scott stood up and held out a hand to help Cora to her feet as well. She smoothed her hands down her jeans and pressed the anger in her stomach down enough that it was merely a simmer.

“Let’s go.”

\---

The kitchen was also much the same as she remembered. A big, wood furnace off to one side, cooking appliances lining one side of the wall underneath the windows looking out into the forest, and a long table with benches on either side to eat at.

When they walked in, there were already four people in the room. Derek, turning off the oven and putting food on plates, a man setting out six places at the table, and two people, a man and a woman, already seated.

The three strangers looked up when Cora came in, and the chatter died out instantly. She slid into the seat that would be as far from Derek as possible, and stared at the wood grain. Scott sat across from her, leaning over so that he could talk to the others sitting next to him.

“Scott.” He said, and Cora looked up to watch him shaking hands with a smirking blonde girl.

“Erica,” she said. Nodding her head in the direction of the two other men she gave their names as well. “This is Isaac, and Boyd is the one whose turn it is to set the table.”

“Vernon, actually,” the one introduced as Boyd said, sliding in next to Cora once he was done putting out plates and silverware. “Boyd was what these two called me in high school.”

“Vernon it is then,” Scott grinned, shaking his hand.

“And I’m sure you already know Derek,” Erica continued, completely ignoring the exchange. 

The man in question was headed over to the table with a ham, some slices already cut from it. There was also corn and green beans, warm biscuits and a berry pie. Cora’s heart lurched, looking at the food. Family favorites, those home cooked meals. Something that Laura, through all her complaining, was very good at.

Derek avoided her eyes when she looked up at him, instead heading back for the cabinet and asking what everyone wanted to drink.

Scott, ever the perfect guest, hopped out of his seat to help, coming back with water for Cora without asking her what she wanted. Her fingers automatically went around the glass and she took a long drink, feeling a little more grounded when she came up again for air.

Scott was looking at her intently, and she nodded ever so slightly at him.

The dinner began with the three new hires doing most of the talking, Scott listening very seriously to their conversation. Derek sat and ate in silence, Cora doing much the same unless she decided to chance a glance up at him. He never met her gaze.

Everything was washing over her in a dull hum, and it wasn’t until Erica asked her to pass the basket of biscuits that anything penetrated her wall.

“So when she died we had to ask around. The pack is alright, but we need more variety in the genes, and—“

“Who died?” asked Cora sharply, looking between the three.

“Mireya,” Isaac cocked his head at her. “A few months ago, actually. The pack was in mourning for a while, but we’re getting two newbies in a couple of weeks, a brother and sister who are a few years old, so everything should be fine provided we introduce them properly.”

This time, when Cora went to look towards her brother, Derek was staring right back. “Why didn’t you tell me?” it was meant to come out casually, but Cora couldn’t seem to summon the emotion.

He said nothing, but his eyes flickered, and Cora found herself pushing up and away from the table, meal half eaten. “Excuse me,” she told them, just barely managing to keep herself from running out of the room.

Cora was in a jacket and pulling on her boots when Scott came cautiously into the room. Her hands were shaking, and she was having trouble doing the laces.

Scott sat down in front of her, pushing her hands to the side and slowly pulling the laces tight, tying them himself. 

“I knew she was old,” Cora told him, watching his steady hands. “It was bound to happen at some point. I can’t believe that he didn’t tell me when she died. I can’t believe I didn’t know. It must have happened right after I left.”

When Scott was done with her boots she stood up, zipping the jacket.

“What are you going to do now?” 

“I’m going to take a walk out in the preserve.” A hat pulled down over her ears and she was ready to go.

“I’ll go with you,” Scott reached for his own jacket, but Cora stopped him.

“I’d really rather be alone now.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright by yourself?”

“I’ve been walking these trails ever since I can remember. I’ll be fine.”

Without another glance back, Cora was out the door.

\---

She was shivering when she got back to the house. The cold had sunk into her bones, and no amount of walking was warming her up at this point. 

Cora had done her crying out there amongst the trees. When her tears had blurred her vision so badly that she couldn’t see anything, she had sat down and allowed them to fall. For the wolves she loved so desperately, for her family and her brother and the changes in both of their lives.

Her hands were numb, which made it difficult to open the door and slip back inside. All the lights were out; the only sound was the wind beating at the windows. In her parents’ room, Scott was asleep on his side, tucked into the makeshift bed on the floor.

Cora pulled off her outerwear, not even bothering to change before slipping underneath the blankets. Scott rolled over as soon as she lay down, eyes wide open.

“Everything alright?” he whispered to her. She huffed out a poor replication of a laugh.

“No. Everything is different. Nothing is okay.” 

Scott said nothing, merely scooting closer to her under the covers.

“I can’t believe Derek didn’t tell me Mireya died. I watched her grow up. We got her when she was a pup, and I saw her grow up, and have her own litters, and become the alpha with her mate. I can’t believe that Derek hired these strangers who are living in our house. I can’t believe that he stuck us in my parents’ room.”

“You’re talking about them like—“

“They’re dead? Yeah. They are.”

Cora squeezed her eyes shut. Even in the darkness of the room she could feel them hovering, their bodies shifting in the bed next to them, like at any moment one of them would lean over and tell her to go back to her room, stop bothering them while they are trying to sleep.

She could sense Scott processing next to her. “Recent?”

“Pretty recent. A couple of months before I moved in with you.”

“Oh, wow.” Another moment of silence. “And you and your brother had a big enough fight that you moved out so soon after it happened?”

Cora grimaced. “We were falling apart. Everything was a huge deal, and when we started talking about what happened… it didn’t end well. We both said a lot of things…”

“Why? What happened?”

“My mom and dad, and my sister Laura, and my uncle Peter were all in the car. Derek’s girlfriend Kate was driving and. Well. She wasn’t the most stable person, no one really liked her, but Derek was head over heels so she was around all the time. Me and Derek were home and Kate was picking them up from the airport and she—she drove them right into a tree. None of them lived.”

There it was, the sound of the pieces clicking together in his head. Kate driving, Kate was Derek’s girlfriend, click, click, click. 

“And you had a fight about whose fault it was.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah.”

Scott frowned. “He must have been beating himself up. I bet he still is.”

Cora rolled over from her back to look at him for the first time since entering the room. She could barely make out his face in the shadows. “What do you mean?”

“He must feel like it’s all his fault. I know I would.”

Cora was quiet for a minute, fingers twisting the blanket into knots. “I’m tired. Can we sleep now?”

“Sure,” Scott said, moving even closer to her. 

She closed her eyes and felt him press his palm to hers.

\---

In the harsh light of day, the late night conversation was not acknowledged. After showers and breakfast, Scott begged her to show him around, take him to see the wolves.

Cora shook her head. “I can’t take you to see the wolves unless any of them are in the little enclosure for isolation or medical attention or anything. But I can definitely show you around.”

She spent almost the entire day being a tour guide. They hiked a few of the easier paths, although Cora had the feeling that Scott would easily be able to handle the smaller, rockier, steeper ones. She showed him around the sprawling house, pointing out the furniture that her father had carved himself out of fallen trees. The visitor’s center, which had information and pictures for any guests that happened to come by. Their last stop was the little building that held medical supplies and other things for the wolves.

The door to the back room was unlocked, and she was saying to him, “We keep a little enclosure here, you can see it out of the window. We all learned basic procedures so we could help in an emergency, but we always have a vet on staff too—“

She stopped in her tracks. Derek was standing there, staring out the window at the wolf laying on its side. She followed his gaze and moved closer. “That’s Takaani.”

Derek nodded, seeming unsurprised that they were there. “We’re keeping him here to watch. He’s been pretty sick lately. Isaac’s coming in later to take a look at him.”

“So, Isaac's the new vet-on-call?” Cora asked, standing next to him. Takaani looked to be sleeping, although his breathing wasn’t as deep as it should be.

“He’s new, but he’s doing well.” Derek licked his lips and let out a minute sigh. “He still needs someone with him who knows the wolves better.”

“And the others?”

“They’re out doing the rounds of the preserve.” He turned from the window. “I shouldn’t even be here, there’s paperwork that I have to be doing.”

“If you need to do that later I can be here when Isaac comes to look at him.”

Derek appraised her over his shoulder, and something passed between them, because he gave her a quick smile and said, “If you’d like.” He looked over at Scott. “You can stay too.”

Scott smiled, pressing his hands to the glass. “That would be amazing.”

\---

A few days later saw Scott and Cora back in their apartment. With one last evening before both of them had to go back to work, they stayed in, fuzzy socks and sweatpants the attire of choice.

So Cora was not expecting it at all when there was a light knock on the door, and Scott jumped up to answer it like he had been expecting it all along.

She craned her neck, half-hoping that he had taken it upon himself to order take out and this was the delivery person.

Instead, a woman walked in, dark curly hair, soft eyes. It took less than a second for Cora to realize that this must be Scott’s mother; the likeness was uncanny. She was mortified, baggy clothes hanging off her frame, hair unkempt, no make up on her face.

“You must be Cora,” Scott's mother said, eyes twinkling. Scott took her coat, hanging it up by the door. “Scott’s told me so much about you.”

Cora glared at the man in question, and he had the grace to look slightly ashamed, although the effect was marred by the smile on his face. “My mom’s here!” he said belatedly.

It turned out that her name was Melissa, and she was one of the sweetest people Cora had ever met. They did end up ordering delivery Chinese food, Cora opting to sit on the floor while Scott and Melissa shared the couch. She was just like her son; interested in everything there was about Cora, engaged in the stories of the preserve and the wolves and her family, commenting and questioning her work as a DJ. Cora had never talked about herself so much in one go.

Cora cornered Scott in the kitchen when he was cleaning up the plates and said, “You should have told me your mom was coming over, I would have at least put on real clothes.”

“Ah, she doesn’t mind.” Scott put the last few pieces of silverware in the dishwasher. “Besides, I kind of wanted to surprise you. You took me to meet your family, so you get to meet mine.”

Cora felt a fluttering in her stomach. She ducked her head and shuffled back to take Scott’s spot next to Melissa on the couch. 

At the end of the evening, Scott was helping his mother back into her coat and she was smiling at Cora in a way that looked like she knew something no one else did.

“It was very nice to meet you Cora. I hope you’ll be sticking around?”

Before she could answer, Melissa was out the door with a peck on Scott’s cheek. Cora stood there, open-mouthed, and then turned to Scott with her hands on her hips.

“Why does everyone seem to think we’re dating?”

He raised his eyebrows at her. “Because in reality we sort of are.”

Cora had nothing to say to that.


End file.
